Sunday, January 30, 2011

2 Henry 6: Act 4, Scenes 7-10

336.

life is so crazy right now! as of today, i am in rehearsal for 3 productions and taking 6 courses on top of doing this blog every day and attempting to maintain relationships. am i crazy? yes. i feel like every day is a roller coaster. if it weren't for sean backing me up every day, i would not make it through this. i feel like a crazy person most of the time! will i lose my mind before this whole project is up? possibly. i am not complaining, i'm just sayin'. when i sound crazy, you'll understand where i'm coming from.


and now for the end of act 4:

act 4, scene 7
Cade: let's tear down everything.
Dick/Smith: we got jokes.
   (one of Cade's men enters with Saye.)
Cade: you should be beheaded. you built a grammar school and a paper mill, and caused books to be published! you monster.
Saye: you're from Kent? 'bona terra, mala gens.' (good land, bad people)
Cade: and he speaks Latin! take him away!
Saye: listen, i'm a good guy and i don't deserve to die.
Cade: take him away and behead him!
Saye: what have i done wrong? i've never hurt anyone.
Cade: he makes a good point and i feel bad for him, but i have to stand my ground. take him and kill him. and when you're done, kill his son-in-law too
   (Saye is taken out.)
Cade: everyone must honor and obey me.
   (someone enters with the heads of Lord Saye and his son-in-law on poles.)
Cade: make them kiss each other. now let's parade around town and show everyone how they kiss.

act 4, scene 8
   (Cade enters with his army.)
Buckingham: listen, Cade. go home in peace and Henry will pardon you.
Clifford: come on, men! Henry will forgive you. cheer if you will follow him!
All: woo!
Cade: seriously? i thought you men would never give up. they will ruin you! cheer if you will follow me!
All: woo!
Clifford: remember how true you are to Henry 5? is Cade his son? Cade has no home and no hope. God is on our side. are you?
All: woo!
Cade: i wouldn't give up, but my followers have deserted me. i must flee!
   (Cade runs away with a weapon in his hand.)
Buckingham: a thousand crowns to anyone who brings Cade's head to the King.

act 4, scene 9
   (Henry, Margaret, and Somerset; Buckingham and Clifford enter.)
Clifford: Cade has fled! here are his soldiers. they beg your forgiveness.
Henry: of course! they are forgiven for choosing to be loyal to me.
Messenger: the Duke of York is here from Ireland with an army! and he says somerset is a traitor!
Henry: (see quote of the day.) send Somerset to the Tower of London for safe keeping!
 Buckingham, go talk York off the ledge.
Somerset and Buckingham: done.

act 4, scene 10
Cade: i have been in these woods for 5 days and i am STARVING. i have to take some food from this person's estate or i will die.
Iden: lalala i am walking around.
Cade: he will catch me and turn me in!
Iden: why would i do that? i would never hurt a starving man.
Cade: i am crazy and i will fight you!
   (they fight. and Cade is stabbed.)
Cade: Cade is dying because of famine!
Iden: you're Cade? oh then i definitely want to kill you.
   (Cade dies. Iden continues to stab his body.)
Iden: i hope i have sent your soul to hell.
   (Iden exits, dragging out Cade's body.


let me start by saying that there is some crazy stuff going on! Cade has Saye and his son-in-law killed and then made their heads kiss each other?!?! that is seriously messed up! i love what Saye asks Cade and his men before his death. he basically says: if God judged you as harshly as you are judging me right now, what would happen? that's some good stuff. i love how Shakespeare has been giving these honorable characters last moments that are awesome. they often get to stick it to the man before they die, or say something amazing. and the villains get to die in the stupidest ways. they end up looking foolish. it's pretty sweet. that being said, i feel like all the good ones are dying. there are really only a handful of characters left that i know by name, and i'm sure at least one of them will die in the last act. it's crazy. it's so funny how today we want happily ever after. all these deaths would not fly with the average viewer. but back then, it was no big deal. the characters weren't too precious for him to kill. that is fascinating to me. what do you guys think about that?

until tomorrow...

quote of the day:
'thus stands my state, twixt Cade and York distressed,
like to a ship that, having scaped a tempest,
is straightway calmed and boarded with a pirate.'
     -Henry; act 4, scene 9

-rebecca the crazy

2 comments:

  1. Jack Cade says to Lord Saye:

    "Thou hast appointed justices of peace, to call poor men before them about matters they were not able to answer. Moreover, thou hast put them in prison; and because they could not read, thou hast hanged them;"

    Reason for anger? I should say so. I love how it just completely comes off the rails here. That his points are valid and yet his reactions are just so extreme you just can't listen anymore. It's the perfect insert in the middle of an history play.

    And now we're ready to say, "Meanwhile back at the castle,"

    York is ready to take the crown perforce.

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  2. I love the quote of the day. Frying pan. Fire

    Tyler, thank you for giving us some context to equivocate on behalf of Cade. Always good to see the different sides. Of course, Rebecca's abbreviated re-cap above highlights how the people say, "Baa-baa!" while flip-flopping their loyalty.

    On deaths and happy endings: Dying with honor is a kind of victory. Rebecca's descriptions remind me of certain episodes of THE TUDORS, particularly those that feature executions. Dramatically, and in life, the finality and violence of death helps us focus on thoughts outside the routine.

    Ranney and I have lost several friends to unexpected deaths, whether by accident, murder, or illness. Yet, when I think of these men, despite my sadness, I focus more on the triumph of the authentic lives they lived, than on the tragedy of their demise. I think it's more tragic to live a long, frightened, unfulfilled, dishonest existence, as too many do.

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